The present invention relates to a wire termination apparatus for use in making wire harnesses wherein each harness includes one or more insulation displacement terminal ("IDT") style connectors and a plurality of wires, one or both opposing ends of which are connected to the connectors.
Two general methods of making harnesses are known. One such method consists of sequentially terminating the terminals of an electric connector to wires, known as the "separate termination method." The other method consists of simultaneously terminating the terminals of a connector onto the wires as a whole, known as the "whole termination method." Usually the wire terminating apparatus utilized in the separate terminating method includes a reciprocating connector holder for arranging and holding a series of connectors in a row and a terminating apparatus for terminating a selected terminal of the connector to a corresponding wire intended for connection to the connector. The terminating apparatus is positioned above a reciprocating connector holder and reciprocates vertically with respect to the connector.
In operation, one terminal of a selected connector is brought to the termination position, and an operator has to insert a selected wire into the apparatus and hold the wire in position until the termination operation has been completed. This process must be done carefully when a desired order of wire termination is required.
After completing the connecting of one set of free ends of the wires to the terminals of the connector, the remaining set of free ends of the wires are usually connected to the terminals of another connector. In this case, an exact terminal-to-terminal registration is required between the two connectors connected by the wires. It is, however, difficult to connect to the wires selected to a correct terminal selected of the other electric connector. Repeated manual, visual selection and termination of the wires is tedious and often is prone to error.
The present invention is directed to an improved wire termination apparatus that has a means for selectively identifying particular harness wires and their terminal destinations and that substantially reduces operator error.